The onset of the economic downturn last year did not force down the State’s second place ranking in the EU in terms of purchasing power, according to Eurostat.
The EU’s statistics office said gross domestic product (GDP) per person, as measured by purchasing power standards (PPS), in the Republic was 40 per cent higher than the EU average last in 2008, maintaining its position from the previous year.
Luxembourg was deemed the only wealthier nation in PPS terms, with a purchasing power more than 2.5 times the average in the 27 EU states.
However, Luxembourg's rating benefits from the large number of foreign workers in its economy who contribute to the economy but are not counted as residents.
The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Sweden were between 20 to 30 per cent above the EU average, while Denmark, the UK, Germany and Belgium, recorded GDP per person of 10 to 20 per cent above average.
Among the countries deemed the poorest by this measure were Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Latvia which had GDP per resident 60 per cent below the EU average.
Portugal, Slovakia and Estonia were all measured as having a purchasing power of 75 per cent below the EU average.
Malta and the Czech Republic with GDP per person of 80 per cent or less of the EU average. Greece, Cyprus and Slovenia recorded GDP per person 10 per cent below the average.
The PPS measure is an artificial currency unit used to remove price differences between countries meaning that one PPS unit purchases the same volume of goods and services in all countries.
According to Eurostat the measure allows for "meaningful" volume comparisons of economic indicators across countries.
